A DUKE TO REMEMBER is book 2 in the Season for
Scandal series by Kelly Bowen. Bowen is a relative
newcomer to the historical romance scene, with her
backlist
starting in 2014, but she rightly deserves all the Good
Book Noise that has been buzzing around the internet about
her Regency romances. While her stories are all slightly
implausible, they are all such rollicking fun that I can
lose myself in the adventure and simply smile and laugh
through the whole book.
A DUKE TO REMEMBER features Elise deVries, an intrepid
actress who uses her skills for good. She works in
disguise for Chegarre & Associates, an elite consulting
agency that solves personal problems and investigates
mysteries for the members of the ton. Elise is tasked
with
locating the missing duke of Ashland in order to save the
duchy from an avaricious cousin who has imprisoned the
dowager duchess in Bedlam. Not very much of the story is
dedicated to finding the wayward duke. Elise stumbles on
him fairly quickly in the story. Noah Ellery had left
behind the trappings of aristocracy and has been
rusticating as in the wilds of Nottingham (Noah's identity
isn't a spoiler, as it's revealed in the book blurb).
First Elisa must convince Noah to come back to assume his
proper place in society, which he is very against doing.
Noah and Elise must outwit assassins, re-establish Noah's
bona fides in the ton, and rescue Noah's mother from the
clutches of the sadistic care of Bedlam mental
institution. All the while, Elise is trying to resist her
instant attraction to the lovely and handsome Noah.
Elise has a chequered past, and has a backstory that
gives her some great reasons to be both independent and
intrepid. While she is an unlikely character, I do enjoy
her greatly. I typically cheer for females who are
fighting against patriarchy or are unusually competent in
historical fiction. There is an instant attraction
between
Elise and Noah, but it takes some time for their
attraction
to come to the point, as it were; and their growing sexual
closeness is well done, rather than the insta-lust that
mars so many tales these days. The well fleshed-out
personalities of Elise and Noah with their tragic pasts
lend poignancy to their progressive intimacy, and I love
how Elise tries to resist Noah for his own good. Kelly
Bowen has quickly earned her way onto my Must-Read list.
A
DUKE TO REMEMBER is definitely a typical lovely Bowen
offering, with a strong heroine, a captivating romance,
and
good fun. You'll be glad to read this book!
Elise deVries is not what she seems. By night, the actress
captivates London theatergoers with her chameleon-like
ability to slip inside her characters. By day, she uses her
mastery of disguise to work undercover for Chegarre &
Associates, an elite agency known for its discreet handling
of indelicate scandals. But when Elise is tasked with
locating the missing Duke of Ashland, she finds herself
center stage in a real-life drama.
Noah Ellery left the glamour of the London aristocracy to
pursue a simpler life in the country. He's managed to avoid
any complications or entanglements-that is, until he lays
eyes on Elise and realizes there's more to this beautiful
woman than meets the eye. But when Elise reveals her real
identity-and her true feelings for him-the runaway duke must
confront the past he left behind . . . to keep the woman he
loves forever.
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